In the nine days since an arson fire crippled operations at the Food Bank for Monterey County, an outpouring of community support followed to help the nonprofit get back up and running.

Surveillance video recorded a man lighting a stack of pallets on fire outside the food bank's Salinas facility. Flames spread to a fleet of delivery trucks and caused between $600,000 -$1 million in damages.

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The fire hit the community hard. Food Bank for Monterey County helps one in every five people throughout the county, including 20,000 children.

Since then, nearly $500,000 has been raised by individuals and agencies that took action. The majority of donations were generously given by:

• Community Foundation for Monterey County• The David and Lucile Packard Foundation• First 5 Monterey County• Harden Foundation• Monterey Peninsula Foundation• Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation• Pebble Beach Company Foundation• United Way Monterey County

"We have all come together to try to get the food bank back up and fully operational as quickly as possible. I want our gift to help them become even stronger organization in the future," said Community Foundation for Monterey County CEO Dan Baldwin. "People will go hungry if the Food Bank is unable to replenish the warehouse, rebuild the infrastructure, and replace trucks."

The food bank serves the elderly, ill, and needy families.

"We have all of the senior produce markets operational this week. Next week, we are committed to starting the family market," said Melissa Kendrick, executive director of the Food Bank for Monterey County.

Kendrick said the food bank would still be in very bad shape without a wave of support.

"Donations have made all of this possible. It is all due to the generosity of the community," Kendrick said.

The arsonist has not been identified, and as of Tuesday, was still at-large.

HOW TO DONATE TO FOOD BANK FOR MONTEREY COUNTY:

Phone:Make a credit card donation by calling 831-758-1523. Visa/MasterCard/American Express accepted.Online:Make a secure online donation using your credit card at http://www.foodbankformontereycounty.orgMail:Make your check payable to Food Bank for Monterey County and mail it to 815 West Market Street, #5, Salinas, California 93901.Call Melissa Kendrick at 831-758-1523 or email lsunny@food4hungry.org to find out more about the good your financial gift can do.